


Merely Players

by nettaborealis



Series: All the World's a Stage [1]
Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Caroline Forbes Goes to New Orleans, Episode: s06e15 Let Her Go, F/M, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Klaus Mikaelson Has A Heart, Minor Canonical Character(s), Past Character Death, RIP Liz Forbes, no beta we die like women
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 18:27:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30059682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nettaborealis/pseuds/nettaborealis
Summary: Her hand touched his, and their fingers tangled.There was no joy.But for a moment, there was peace.ORInstead of turning off her humanity, Caroline find comfort with the man she might dare to love.
Relationships: Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson
Series: All the World's a Stage [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2213991
Comments: 2
Kudos: 43





	Merely Players

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages.

> -William Shakespeare

“I said I was fine, Elena.”

“I don't believe you.”

Caroline turned. She couldn’t find the strength to do anything else.

Elena took a step towards her. “All day, something has been bugging me.” she said slowly, haltingly, “You wanted to pack this all in so quickly- like you had somewhere you needed to be.”

Caroline didn’t flinch.

“I mean, you were so concerned with getting through today without a hint of how you'd feel tomorrow, and then I realized.” Elena lifted her head, forcing Caroline to meet her eyes. “You don't want to feel tomorrow. That's the plan, right? You're not going to feel tomorrow because you're gonna turn it all off.”

Caroline didn’t respond, at first. She turned away, towards the chair where she had set her coat. That was her mother’s chair- Liz Forbes’ favorite chair- and she would never sit there again. Caroline would never again curl up, listening to her mother’s languid voice while they reread Little House on The Prairie for the hundredth time.

She looked away.

“I thought I could get through the rough patch,” she said. Her voice was flat, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. “and then just pick myself up after like I usually do.” Her eyes found the lamp of the table, the little antique one by the stairs. That lamp had been replaced a dozen times; every one they brought fell and crashed on the floor, though neither mother nor daughter could, for the life of them, understand why.

“But then Damon made me realize it's just going to get worse.”

Elena almost scoffed in disbelief. “You're listening to Damon?”

Caroline ignored her. “I need you to leave.”

“No, Caroline. I can’t.”

“Leave.”

“No!”

Then Elena was against the wall, and Caroline was squeezing her throat, blood filling her eyes, vampiric veins crackling. “Leave, or I will make you.”

“Caroline!” Elena cried.

Caroline let go. “Sorry.” She wasn’t sure she meant it.

“Care!” Elena gasped. She blinked furiously, though there were no tears in her eyes, and touched her throat. Fear and disbelief swept through her eyes. “It- It’s okay, Care.” She swallowed, still shaking. “You need your friends right now…”

“Did you want yours?”

“N- No, but I-” Elena took a deep breath. “You can’t turn off your humanity, Caroline.”

“You did it. You couldn't handle the pain when your brother died, so you turned it off. Damon died, and you erased all your memories. Stefan moved to Savannah and became an auto mechanic. What, do you think that you guys are the only ones who get to escape grief?”

“You just mentioned two of the biggest mistakes that I ever made.”

“I just need the pain to be gone.” Caroline didn’t raise her voice. She didn't cry, she didn’t scream; She simply spoke. “The truth is, Elena… You’re weak. You don’t have control. I do.” Caroline met the soft brown eyes of the girl she had known all her life; “Which is why I’m not going to flip the switch.”

Elena’s face was a mix of emotions, too tangled up to understand.

“I feel trapped, Elena. This town in suffocating me! I- I can't breathe, I can't think, I- I-" For the first time, Caroline voice started to crack. Her eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them away. "I can't stay here.”

Then all of the relief, the joy, the gratefulness at Caroline’s decision, all fell away. “What? Care- You can’t leave! I can’t let you do that!”

But she received no answer. Instead, there was a sickening crack, and her body fell to the floor.

“That’s not your choice to make.”

“The dagger the witch gave me is _inside_ of him?”

“And every second it remains causes Niklaus untold suffering.”

Camille’s eyes were wide when she asked, almost hesitantly, “Who stabbed him?”

“I did,” Elijah replied, without missing a beat. “And now I intend to remove it.” He strode past Cami, to his brother’s side. “You might want to take a step back.”

She obliged. Her eyes dated between Elijah, who was rolling up his sleeves, then down to Niklaus himself, who lay, motionless, on the bed, a nightmarish scar running down his bare abdomen. “Why am I here?”

“Because of all the people that could be here, you are one of three he would not immediately slaughter.”

“Where are the other two?”

“The first is dead, the second is unavailable and likely unwilling; and you, Camille, are the third.”

Cami wasn’t sure how to respond.

Then Elijah took a small knife, and she stifled her yelp, choosing to eye the blade nervously- and, she would admit, squeamishly- as Elijah proceeded to slice open his brother.

Klaus moaned, voice quiet and raspy.

“Also,” Elijah continued, “He speaks of you-” He thrust his hand into Niklaus’ stomach. “-with what is a rare degree- for him, at least- of respect. I can see you challenge him to see himself and others in a new light.” With a groan, he yanked the dagger out.

Klaus gasped for breath, then sighed in relief.

“…A wonderful skill that I shall be counting on very shortly.” He paused, placing the dagger on a white towel. “You see, Niklaus will be weak as he recovers. So watch over him, and feed him if you would. But slowly, please… and from your wrist.”

Camille’s eyes were practically bulging. “Don’t you guys have bags in storage?”

“We do, but your blood is laced with vervain.” He glanced up, and seemed the smallest bit exasperated at Cami’s dumbfounded look. “So it will burn him. He’ll ingest it slower.” Elijah looked over at Klaus, expression unreadable. “Perhaps you could use the time constructively, persuade him not to murder his baby sister.”

Camille was speechless.

“Niklaus,” Elijah said softly, leaving over his brother. “It was not my desire to bring you pain, but I will not see you hurt Rebekah. Now, I fear Sabine may be making a final move against us; I intend to find her… and to end this.”

Then, just as he turned to go, Klaus’ raspy croak could be heard; “Elijah…”

His brother moved back, and leaned down again,

“You will pay… for this.”

Elijah had no answer.

When Niklaus came home, he was not alone, but the house felt empty. He had visitors, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Dozens of vampires, and Marcellus- the little warrior, come to challenge the king.

Niklaus listened to his speech, his son, the boy he had once loved and now hated with a passion like the man he had summoned- But did he, truly? _Could_ he?

He felt worn. For the first time in centuries, he was tired, and it frightened him. No, it terrified him. So he turned away from Marcellus without saying a word.

He sensed Elijah enter, and might have stayed, but something pulled him. He walked, without knowing where he was going, and found himself surrounded by paintings and blank canvases. Then, there it was. The little chess piece from a thousand years ago. He held it, almost delicately; simply looking at it, trying to recall not just who Rebekah had been, but who he, too, once was.

He could barely remember.

That boy, little Niklaus, he knew, would never hurt his beloved sister as Klaus, the hybrid, had done tonight.

He had not expected tears.

He heard her approach. He heard the near-silent sound of her shoes against the floor; her soft breathing. He could feel the cries buried deep in her chest, and knew that tonight, she too had been hurt.

She, too, had been broken.

She sat beside him, without saying a word. Neither spoke.

They didn’t need to.

Her hand touched his, and their fingers tangled.

There was no joy.

But for a moment, there was peace.  
  


Klaus Mikaelson was smiling.

Not maliciously, not with that sadistic gleam in his eyes, but purely. Joyfully.

He stood, paintbrush in hand, _laughing_.

His half-finished work was of light colors, coming together to form a beautiful face, just like that of the newborn vampire; the young woman seated beside him. At first glance, she was barely more than a girl. Her skin was light and creamy, her ringlets butter-blonde, her wide, round eyes captivating, most of all to Klaus, who looked into them like they were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his centuries of death.

Her name was not known, nor overheard. Klaus called her ‘love’, and she referred to him with sarcastic mimicking of the name.

(Though she certainly did not dislike his endearing sobriquets.)

She stood, the jade-eyed girl, and looked over his shoulder. A faint blush spread across her cheeks, and her thin lips quirked. They spoke for a moment, and her affectionate glare would be met with a smirk.

“You know I can’t stay,” she said.

“I know.” he promised. “But am I not allowed to hope?”

**Author's Note:**

> I really wanted a fan fiction where Caroline went to New Orleans instead of turning off her humanity, but couldn't find one that really felt right. So I made this.  
> I changed some of the dialogue in the scene where Elijah removed the bone dagger. In canon, he says that Camille is the only person Klaus wouldn't "immediately slaughter'.  
> However, we know that isn't true, and I think that Elijah knew that. I changed his statement so that he spoke of three people, saying that Camille was just one of those few. Obviously, Caroline is the second. Although it is true that Elijah probably didn't know much about her, I think that he must have seen some of Klaus' drawings and used his impeccable intuition to get some idea of who she was.  
> And finally, first person mentioned is actually Henrik Mikaelson. His death triggered the landslide of dominoes that led to the creation of vampires. But, as children, Klaus and Henrik seemed very close. This is hinted at in canon. (And their sibling relationship is absolutely adorable.)  
> Please comment. You are my only hope at some small bit of self-esteem.


End file.
